I’m having lots of anxiety; any book recs to get lost in?

The theory behind the plan is that inflammation, gut distress, and neurotransmitter imbalances can lead to and amplify anxiety—while anti-inflammatory foods, the keto diet, and gut-friendly foods can reduce it.

How does the super trendy keto diet help? By going low-carb, you can change the rate of glucose metabolism in the brain so there's a more active conversion of glutamate to GABA, the neurotransmitter linked to relaxation. "Because GABA is a mood stabilizer, the idea is that the ketogenic diet acts as a mood stabilizer,” says Feller. Anecdotal reports have also suggested that following keto can help reduce anxiety symptoms, fear, and depression, adds Feller.

As for how inflammation and anxiety are linked, Miller says that people who have anxiety tend to have a high amount of inflammatory chemicals in the body. That "causes a surge of excitatory neurotransmitters, which creates even more anxious thoughts and feelings,” she explains. And since 90% of serotonin is made in the gut, when the GI tract and gut are inflamed, production of serotonin may be hindered. That in turn increases feelings of stress, she says.